online harmonica lessons

I'm often asked what to use to clean the outside of a harmonica. I use Roche-Thomas' Mi-T-Mist. Spray... let sit for a moment... wipe the grunge off. Be careful not to spray inside your harp on a chromatic (you don't want this spray to get on your wind savers). Here's a link: http://www.rochethomas.com/p-159-mi-t-mist-8oz.aspx

You've most likely heard that tapping your foot is a good idea while you play. You've also probably noticed that it can be hard to do, especially along to new licks that you're studying.

Give yourself a test... continue reading...

Play them... often. Most of us don't have bands. The nice thing about having a band is that you have context for the songs you've studied. You also get to play these songs, at the very least, on a monthly basis to ensure retention. Mimic having a band. Make a playlist and once a week (if you don't have many songs at this point) or once a month (if you do have a lot of songs under your belt) hit play and don't stop until the playlist is complete. In the beginning I recommend you have the first track be the original and then the second track be the jam track for each song. continue reading...

Some subjects that I write about I'm an expert... something I have taught many times in many situations... the focus is to just write it down. Other areas I write on I am not an expert, and the research I do helps to educate me AND others. You don't have to be an expert to help the harmonica community by creating something new. Get started today on a project that excites you (and doesn't take away too much practice time... I'm dead serious about this).

Here are some Ideas for you:
- Create a listing
- Catalog something
- Gather historical data on an artist or artists that interest you continue reading...

It's true that the harmonica is a blind person's instrumental, though we do have our hands. Your lips, jaw and cheek touch your hands while playing the harmonica, giving you a tactile reference. Experiment by playing across the range of your harmonica and noting where your face is in relation to your hands; you may find this helpful when working on new passages that require large leaps. As you practice those challenging passages, over time your muscle memory will take over and you won't need that tactile reference, but it can be helpful at first.

Join Joe Filisko for his latest submission to breathing. Joe talks about: Breathing Range, the Exhale Push and Nose Breathing.

We often hear a cool lick and learn just that lick, leaving the solo or instrumental behind (sometimes that lick is the only cool idea played... or at least cool to us at that moment in time). Many players just learn the lick and move on. If you move on you're guaranteed to not have it show up in your improvising. Unless the lick contains some super-sticky elements that makes it unusually easy to remember (doesn't usually happen) you'll need to play it a minimum of 50 times before it sticks into your long-term memory. continue reading...